Soul's Last Strength
by katikate
Summary: In the Final Battle, one is lost to the group, and hidden emotions brought home.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Inuyasha, I own very little except a couple of dogs, and nobody but me would want them anyway.

This is my first fic, so don't be gentle! Tell me what's wrong so I can improve. Reviews are welcome, but I won't nag! Thanks!

"Kagome!"

As the young girl's body flew through the air, the hanyou with the massive sword could only scream her name in desperation. Her blood followed her in an arc of red, falling to the ground in a nauseating splatter.

She fell to the ground with a sickening thud, the battle worn bow still clutched in her fist. Kagome knew she was dying, and very quickly at that. Inuyasha stopped his assault on Naraku and rushed to her side, repeating her name over and over. Kagome's vision began to fade, and as her life literally began to flash before her eyes, Kagome remembered how the day had begun so innocently

The group had been on a return trip to Kaede's village after an unsuccessful shard hunt. Shippo and Inuyasha were arguing, as usual, and Miroku had a new handprint on his left cheek to match his right. It had been a month since they'd battled the army of seven, and the youkai in the area were just beginning to settle down after their imprisonment by Naraku. Although they had not found any more shards, Kagome felt at peace.

Suddenly, Shippo jumped in her arms for protection, knocking her breath away and telling her Inuyasha had bopped him "for no reason at all!". Just as she was about to use the subduing spell on the protesting hanyou, the wind began to pick up. A dark jaki blew in, settling in as though it had been there all along. The unusual family all immediately went into "battle mode", Inuyasha drawing Tetsaiga to is impressive length, muttering "What now…" under his breath.

As if formed from the dark clouds around them, Naraku rapidly appeared before them. Kagura, Kanna, and Kohaku surrounded him, all prepared to do the bidding of the one who held their hearts and souls in the palm of his hand.

"Hello Inuyasha," the human-turned-demon drawled. "We were just in the neighborhood and thought we could take your shards, and of course, your lives." Looking at Kagome, who was clutching the bottle around her neck protectively, he clucked in sympathy. "Except for you, my little Miko. I will keep you alive long enough to completely reclaim the shards. Your powers will be useful to me. And then I will kill you. I may even make you watch your precious _hanyou_ die at my hands."

Inuyasha stepped in front of Kagome instinctively. _I will not let him hurt another woman I…I…care for_. Even in his own thoughts, he couldn't bring himself to say he loved her. He'd already lost Kikyo twice now, he was not going to lose Kagome because of his own weakness of falling in love. "You just try it bastard. Tetsaiga has cut you once, it can do it again." Already the winds were swirling around the sword, ready for battle.

"You will die today."

"I don't think so."

And the battle began.

It was long, and fierce, and at some point Sesshomaru and Kouga joined the warriors. The brothers exchanged glances, acknowledging the unspoken momentary truce, and all that Inuyasha said to Kouga was "Stay out of my way." All three rejoined the fight in earnest.

Miroku was dealing with the minor demons as best they could, but was hindered in his efforts by the many poisonous bees waiting to be sucked in to poison him. His supply of Ofuda was running out, and his staff could only reach so far. Sango at the same time was fighting Kohaku without actually hurting him. Her heart clenched everytime she struck him, for she knew in his heart he recognized her, but his lifeless eyes betrayed no pain. Kouga was trying to literally catch the wind, Kagura teasing him and slicing his body with her deadly fan. Kanna stood to the side, waiting to be ordered to suck up any souls her "father" demanded.

All the while Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru hacked at Naraku while trying not to get wrapped up in a tentacle. His full demon form was monstrous, a horrible mixture of human form and spider legs, poison dripping from his claws and fangs. Inuyasha was never given a chance to Kaze no Kizu, being forced to concstantly move to avoid the ever growing amount of tentacles Naraku was throwing at him and his brother. Sesshomaru was wishing he had both arms, and hoping Rin was far away so she would be protected if he lost. Jaken had orders to take her and Ah-Un to the castle, but Naraku was so strong…

Kagome and Shippo were together, being the weakest of the group. Inuyasha had told her to take the runt and stay out of trouble. She could occasionally fire an arrow, but could never get a good shot and would only hit the stray tentacle. Naraku was currently ignoring her postion because he was not afraid of her arrows. He thought himself invincible to the little miko's powers.

Suddenly, Inuyasha was thrown to the side, landing un his rump with a string of sailor worthy curses. Kagome saw her one chance to sway the battle to their side, and took it. Shouting to everyone "Get down", Kagome stood on top of the rock she and the Kit and been hiding behind, told him to run, and notched an arrow.

Pullin the string taught, Kagome thought of her family, of her friends, of the man she loved but was never brave enough to tell. She thought of all the lives lost, and the future she must protect from this evil being. She opened her heart and formed every joy, every fear, every bit of hope she could into a bright ball at the center of her soul. She put every bit of spiritual strength she had behind it, and prayed silently to herself "Please let this be good," and biting her lip she let fly.

The Arrow blazed a radiant blue and white, hurting her eyes and forcing her to look away. Because of this she never saw the tentacle speeding towards her. Naraku had seen her stand up in the open and coulnd't resist the chance for easy capture of her shards. As Naraku's limb ripped through her stomach, Kagome was thrown across the clearing, landing far from the battle. As her arrow pierced Naraku, he screamed in pain, but still, he somehow managed to absorb her shard.

When Inuyasha reached her broken form, he gently placed her head in his lap, not caring about the battle any longer. "Kagome, Kagome, please hear me..." She turned her face to him, blood coming from her mouth and forming a puddle on the grass. She couldn't feel anything below her waist, but knew her blood was pouring out of the massive wound in her stomach. What she could feel was fire all through her upper body. Even so, she managed a smile for her protector, the one person in the entire world she cared for most.

"Inuyasha…my puppy…" she rasped, interrupting his litany of her name, "I'm sorry I got in trouble." She closed her eyes. Thinking her dead, Inuyasha's body began to shake, and again began calling out her name, almost reaching the point of hysterics.

The battle still raged around them, except now the jewel was almost whole and glowing from Naraku's pulsating chest. That was the only reason he was alive, for even now his body was rebuilding itself from the damage Kagome's arrow had done. Miroku was momentarily given a reprieve when Naraku called his demons back into himself in a tidal wave of evil. But to complete the jewel Naraku also needed his sliver in Kohaku and the twin shards in Kouga's legs.

The one thing sustaining Kohakus life was ripped from his back with a wet sound, and he began to fall, mid strike towards his sister. Sango caught him, his eyes alive for one brief second, long enough for him to look at her in horror and whisper, "Sango…I'm sorry". Then he was gone again. Kouga fell to the ground in pain as his shards were also torn from his legs, and Kagura took the opportunity to remove his head from his body. Sesshomaru joined the group of survivors, sensing the end was near, and wanting to at least die with fellow warriors, even if they were human.

All of this was oblivious to one lone half-demon. Inuyasha stayed by the side of a young girl, a shrine maiden from the future, knowing she would soon die and his soul would die with her. When his repetition of her name did not wakn her, Inuyasha did the one thing he hardly ever did; he opened up and exposed his heart. Rocking her body to him, the boy with the dog-ears poured his heart out, knowing he would never get another chance.

"Kagome, please listen to me", he whispered, not sure she could even hear him any more but needing her soul to at least know how he felt.

"You can't leave me. We have so much to do together. We have to eat ramen and you promised someday to take me to your silly school, and you promised to always be by my side. You've never broken a promise. I'll miss your smile, your laughter, even your temper. I'll miss you sitting me. I'll miss climbing in your window after a fight to try and apologize. I wake up every day happy inside because I know I will spend it with you. That's why I can't stand it when you leave, because then my heart is alone. I know I'm mean to you and don't ever tell you nice things, but I was so afraid for so long of getting close to anyone ever again. But its too late, you've got me and I can't let you go."

Hearing her pulse slowing down, he frantically said the one thing he could never say when she was alive. He said it with every part of his being, using every bit of strength he had left and poured it into one sentence.

"Kagome, I love you, and I will always protect you".

And she died. Her breath left her body in one quiet whoosh, and at that moment, Inuyasha never felt so alone, so lifeless. Not even when he was on the tree did he feel so dead. At least then he could dream of waking up, now he didn't want to ever move from that spot. The place his heart died, his hopes shattered, and his future crumbled into dust.

Sesshomaru had tried to fight Naraku off, but had become entertwined in the massive tentacles, and Naraku had started to absorb Sesshomaru, growing even more powerful with evey moment. Miroku's weak barrier around him, Sango, the demon cat Kiara and Shippo was breaking down from the constant attacks by Kagura. Miroku knew it was hopeless, but he couldn't just give in to defeat.

Still Inuyasha did not move from his spot, he just held Kagome's limp body to himself and howled his grief. She was gone, and he couldn't stop it. As he clutched her body to him, Inuyasha knew his soul was dying. He closed his eyes and buried his face in Kagome's hair, not caring if he lived or died.

And then, Kagome's body began to glow.

Inuyasha opened his eyes to see every part of Kagome shining. Even Naraku and his attachments stopped the attack on the monk and slayer to see what was happening. Kagome's body rose from Inuyasha's arms and began to float in the air, white-blue streams of light beginning to shoot from all parts of her body in all directions. From the tips of her fingers to the ends of her hair, light beams burst outwards. Her eyes and mouth flew open, also filled with light, and suddenly, the world stopped. All motion, including Naraku, was stopped dead in its tracks. The tiniest bit of fear was beginning to show in the dark eyes as he watched helplessly what was happeneing before him.

The miko is dead. I killed her. What the hell is going on…

Suddenly, the lord of all evil gasped in what could only be described as pain. _I can't feel pain, not anymore._ Something dripped on his immobile arm, and as his eyes moved downward, a massive hole had appeared in his stomach, exactly where Kagome's Spirit Arrow had pierced. He was bleeding, bleeding red, human, blood. His body began to painfully shrink down to a normal size, and he also began to know what dying felt like. Sesshomaru, whole but unconscious, slipped from his rapidly dwindling form.

The jewel slipped from Naraku's now pink, human chest, and was floating in the air before him. The inside of the jewel was a maelstrom of black and pink, become lighter with every second until every bit of darkness had vanished. The purified jewel shot to Kagome's outstretched hands, glowing even brighter upon reaching her. Naraku, now feeling such pain as he had ever known, looked up at the hovering miko, whose body was now whole and unmarked.

Kagome began to speak. Her voice, however, was deep, and carried much sadness and wisdom behind it. It also echoed, as though multiple beings spoke at once.

"Naraku, you are now being returned to the form you originally inhabited, that of Onigumo. Then you will die, for no human heart can withstand the hatred for life that you carry within you. But before you die, I give you the honor of knowing what has defeated you." As if possible, Kagome grew brighter, while the voice grew more solemn.

"The which has defeated you Naraku, the one who couldn't be stopped, was not a single heart of purity and love, but two joined as one. Over the years, many have watched over the jewel, but none were so pure as the young girl Kagome. She cared nothing for herself and only for her friends. And when she met halfling Inuyasha, wher others had run in fear or hatred, she saw him for what her really was: a pure soul. Although on the outside he seemed impure, inside he only cared for those he loved and not himself. He loved the priestess Kikyo, but even with her great strength in Miko powers, her soul couldn't learn to trust and accept people for what they were, and that is why she fell to your evil tricks.

"Today you would have won, and all would be lost, except for one thing. Inuyasha gave his last bit of soul and strength into telling Kagome he loved her. And that is the most unselfish and trusting thing of all. He knew she would die and he would be alone, but he didn't care as long as Kagome knew he loved only her. That is why the Shikon was rejected from your body, because the side of purity has finally won the battle." Kagome slowly floated to the ground, her light dimming a bit as she landed and finally smiled. "So says I, the priestess Midoriko**.**"

The dead priestess in the young girl's body walked over to the shivering being that was once the most powerful demon on earth, and raised her hand. "Now be released from the hell of a life you have created." She touched his forehead, and Onigumo screamed one last time as the purifying light from her body turned him to ashes.

Wiping her hands clean, she walked over to Kagura and Kanna, who had also been immobilized. They both watched as the miko came closer to them. Eyeing them as you would an unruly child, and freeing their movements, she turned her attention to specifically Kanna.

"Do you wish to live?"

The young demon girl looked at the priestess, put down her mirror, and replied, "I only wish to live if I can be a human with emotions. I have no desire to be immortal and I have never felt anything for anyone. Can you give me this?"

The Miko nodded her head, touched the girl, and suddenly something appeared on Kanna's face that had never been seen before: a true smile. Kanna turned to her sister to await her response. But before the miko could ask her the question, Kagura responded.

"I wish to have my heart so that I can be free. That is all I want, is freedom." Kagura then looked down on her big sister, as if for approval. Kanna nodded, and Kagura was also touched. She turned into the wind, and blew away.

Smiling quietly, Midoriko/Kagome walked over to Inuyasha, who looked very confused and angry. She knelt down beside him, still glowing, and took his face in her hands.

"Where is Kagome?!" asked the irate hanyou, just ready to have this be done with. He was looking at the girl who had just died in his arms. Her blood covered him, he had heard her heart _stop_, for chrissakes. The bright girl in front of him smiled, kissed his forehead, and said "She is right here, and soon will be with you again. Be calm, my puppy. I only need this body for a moment longer." When she said his private nickname, the one that normally drove him crazy but now soothed him, Inuyasha knew Kagome was in there somewhere, and used what little patience he had left to wait for his Kagome to return.

Standing up and turning around to survey the battlefield, strewn with the corpses of both foe and friend, Midoriko/Kagome raised her arms in the air and closed her eyes. Suddenly the bodies of all the lesser demons went poof and disappeared. Scrunching up her brow, she then started to float again, and rising with her were all those lost to Naraku: Kouga and his tribe, Kohaku, who slipped from Sango's weak grasp, and lastly, a silvery form of Kikyo. Leaving these bodies and souls to float like suspended marionettes, she turned to the group as a whole, now including a groggy, but still regal, Sesshomaru.

"Before I leave this earth for the last time, I will bring back those Naraku took away during his evil reign. Lord Sesshomaru, I will need to draw power from Tenseiga. Please, may I borrow it for a moment" He stood up, albeit a bit shaky, and slowly handed her his father's sword. She took it, bowing to The Lord of the Western Lands, before returning upright. "Once I have revived the dead, I will disappear, and jewel will be nothing more than a pretty stone." She paused long enough to motion Kikyo close to her. "This one will be put back where she belongs; the body of her reincarnation. No soul can be split and stay pure for very long. Return Home." And in a flash, Kikyo was gone.

The Miko looked at her wrist in a fashion out of place for the time, sighed, and said, "I must go now". Turning to the field of lifeless bodies, she held the sword of Sesshomaru in one hand and with the other, shot light from the Shikon no Tama. The colors were a mixture of pink, blue and silver, and as each body received their own tendril**,** they all began to stir and gently fall to the ground. .

Sango caught her brother, and when she saw his chest moving up and down, she began to cry tears of joy. Seconds later, her head shot up in a moment of realization, and she began to look around frantically. There, slowly starting to stand, was her father and her fellow exterminators. And as Miroku began to support himself with his staff, he was crushed in a bear hug from both his now older father and grandfather. Kouga and his clan began to rise from the ground, looking around in amazement at being alive once again.

As Midoriko/Kagome looked around at the lives being reborn, she felt a small hand enter her own. A small kitsune childlooked up at her with sadness. She crouched down to his eye level. "What's wrong, little one."

"Kagome, are you ok?" Shippo asked with genuine concern, placing his other hand on her cheek. "Are you still in there?"

She smiled, nodded her head, and stood to her full height. "Goodbye everyone. Kagome will now return and your lives can get back to normal…well as normal as this group gets."

As she began to glow again, she turned to Sango "Oh, all of your people have also been returned. You will find them at home, in your village." The light burst from her once again, and Kagome's limp body fell to the ground, alive and whole.

Inuyasha rushed to her side first, and pushing the protesting kit aside, picked Kagome up under the arms and knees to place in his lap. Looking at her as though her had never seen her before, he held his breath until her eyes fluttered open.

"Kagome…" and he kissed her, right on the mouth. Crushing her to his chest, he swore to himself never let her go again.

"Inuyasha…"

"Yes, Kagome?"

"Why do I have such a headache?"

His smile was more brilliant than any light ever seen.

Life became fairly normal after that. Well, as normal as this bunch can get.

Miroku, with the absence of the Kazanna, immediately married Sango and had lots of children. They moved to her newly resurrected village and lived out very happy lives, keeping in touch with their friends of course. Occasionally a cry of "Hentai!" could be heard across the land as Miroku still didn't know when to quit, even with his own wife

Shippo grew into a fine Kitsune and also found a mate. A human girl, named Rin, who had one of the most overprotective fathers anyone, human or youkai could find. They also had lots of kids, and lived close to Shippo's adopted parents, Kagome and Inuyasha.

Kagome continued to travel back and forth in time, but after dying, being possessed by one of the most powerful mikos in history, defeating the ultimate bad guy, and resurrecting hundreds of people, school just didn't seem very important. She did get her high school diploma, mostly because of her family's insistence, and moved to the Feudal Era full time They were married on Kagome's eighteenth birthday, and only waited so long because her grandfather said if she must "marry a demon, for Kami's sake, it had better be legal!" They had many children, almost competeing with Miroku and Sango, all of whom each had their own adventures.

As for the jewel, it now hangs over the entryway to their home, nothing more than a pretty piece of stone to remind all who see it how so much was lost, and then returned, all through the power of pure love.

The End.

I rewrote this because I read back over it the other day and realized I was really vague and incomplete in some parts, it's a little longer, but a lot easier to read. Anyway, Lemmie know what you think!


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